The power situation in the coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh continued to be grim on Tuesday, as the electricity workers were still on strike in protest against the decision of the Union Government's decision to bifurcate the State and form Telangana. No headway could be made in the talks the Government was having with the striking staff in Hyderabad.

Many of the major industries such as the Visakhapatnam steel plant, the HPCL refinery, the BHPV-BHEL, and others were being run on captive power, with reduced production. The smaller units and others stopped production. Power was restored on Monday night in some areas but again there were power-cuts from Tuesday afternoon.

The patients in the King George Hospital here and other government hospitals in the districts were forced to endure great hardship due to the power-cut. There was diesel scarcity for the generator sets. The cool, cloudy weather in some of the coastal areas due to a depression in the Bay of Bengal made the power-cut somewhat endurable.

Train services were also badly hit due to the power-cut. Curfew continued in Vizianagaram town, 60 km from here, for the fourth day. However, there were no incidents. Curfew was relaxed in the morning for two hours. The police said curfew would continue on Wednesday as well, with two hours relaxation in the morning.

> sarma.rs@thehindu.co.in

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